my fone was stolen in a quite a professional way that you will all be wouldn't believe it, i went to one of ma friends birthday bash and i sat on his couch by the time i felt ma pokect my motorola e1000 and 5000 naira was out of ma pocket, i was so annoyed dat i walked out of the bash in anger, i didn't know who to suspect cos i could't believe ma fone could be stolen in that kind of place.

I was trying to buy somethings for my kids during a traffic jam & a smart Nigerian stretched his hand through the other side of the car windscreen to pick the phone which was placed right beside me because my attention was focused on the hawker which I was trying patronise.

wat are we going to do to stop this stealing of fone my brother's and sisters?

No thief will ever be interested in my phone, cos I buy it used and rugged but guess what, it serve the purpose, the problem is that naija is investing 2 much money on phones, even when network no dey.

just misplaced my phone today ,nokia6260 model with an mtn line.had about N200 credit on it as at the time of missing.what should i do to retrieve the phone back?i'm really depressed. .most painful are ,928 contacts,120 shots in the galery,stored mesages and websites.can mtn help to track the phone supposing the finder makes calls with from it?should i block the line immediately or wait if a good samaritan is in the offing?pls advice me.hammah[/color][color=Black][font=Lucida Sans Unicode][/font][b][/b][center][/center]can i send virus to the phone through sms in case i can't find it?

Wow. Am lost for words to say!

my phone got stolen when i was in schl, morems. lag, it was visiting hours and guys were in the hostel, i was alone in my room, my room mates were on the corridor, i wasnt sleeping i was just on my bed, thinking, and my phone was under my pillow and my head was on the pillow.
i think i had just dozed off when i heard people yelling thief and i saw my sim card beside me, lo and behold the phone was gone, till today im certain the guy used jazz cos i dont undertand how he could enter my room without me hearing, enter my corner, put his hands under my pillow and remove my sim cad take the phone in the space of 2 minutes, how in gods name did he even know a phone was under the pillow. that same night on the same corridor, three other girls phones were stolen under the same circumstances. at least am grateful he left my sim card for me.

Very true. I just came back from Lagos. And, that's one of the most obvious things. A lot of people were carrying the latest phones, even those that can barely afford 3 square meals a day.

Until Nigeria implements a system of black-listing phones, it will continue to be a major problem. A lot of phones that are stolen in Europe (and rendered useless due to black-listing) also end up on the streets in Nigeria. The fact that a lot of folks want the latest phone, will make the stealing of phones, and possible selling at a discount, very common.

Panache:

the problem is that naija is investing 2 much money on phones, even when network no dey.

Lost ma fone ? never !. . . . Just wanna say sorry 2 ya all that lost there fone

God bless

playboy i just want you to know it is not an easy thing to bear with when one loses his phone if you have never felt it b4 it would seem amusing but if you have felt it you will feel bitter.

goind thru the topic and my fellow nairalanders posts see this issue of phone stealing is becoming rampant in Nigeria.Well ve not had my phone stolen b4,but i ve a story to share too.It happened to my aunt she was going out and she was in a crowdy place when her phone rang and she stepped aside to answer the call and immediately she finished answering the call a guy came up to and asked her to give him the phone,my aunt said she wanted to object giving him the phone but the look on his face shows he is a TOUT so she quickly gave him and went away.So When she got home and told us all dis we decided to call her line and when we did ,it was picked up by a guy so when we told the guy the phone belongs to us and he said we asked if the owner was male/female and said if its was a female she should come pick it up.AND OF COURSE NOBODY WENT COS YOU DONT KNOW WAT CAN HAPPEN THERE.

The phone was Motorola L6

reading about all your experiences is crazy. it's hard to believe that people still go out of their way to steal phones in Naija. if anyone stole my blackberry pearl, i'd be one pissed mutha,

I have got my stolen two times. The First one was a very terrible experience. It was on the 5th of Dec.2005.I close from work around 8.30. I was at the bus stop going home, unknown to me that the cab i took is one chance. (Dont ask me if one chance dey taxi too just pray u dont fall a victim). We have not driven 50metres when they started beating me. The first thing they asked fro was my phone. Though the gave me back my sin upon request. They also took over 50K from me because that was the day I was paid my salary.
Two days later I got another phone. It was picked from my pocket. As II got down from the bus I discobered I was light somehow, so I checked my pocket, my phone was gone. two guys behind me, a military man and a young boy directed me to the bus conduct, that it was with him.When I confronted the conduct he was mad at me, I turned to called the two guys to bear witness the disappeared to the thin air.

with all our stories wat are we all going to do about this reoccurence events which i think is not going to stop so we all have to be very careful with our things so as not to loose them unnecessarily.

I bought this Nokia 7710 that I had so much wanted, I ordered it online from a store in new york, 3days later it arrived at my house in Florida. I was so excited and used it right away, It cost me $650 then. january this year i decided to go back to Naija for a while and my phone was picked by the "REAL" owners. I was in a bus and had the phone on my belt in its pouch, four of us sat in the back and there was this old man and his wife that didnt have up to the bus fare so i said I was going to pay for him, as we were talking i didnt know it was a form of distraction and the guy close to me would just bump into me as if the bus was jumping in gallops, later he started smiling at me. i was just irritated and faced the other way. the next thing i didnt even know when he got down, as i was about to get down at my destination, I just saw my phone pouch open,there was a cold wave that ran over me and i asked the driver to stop and searched the bus, but he said did i know who sat by me that he would be the one. I was madd. I then said i would never buy another phone again until my wife begged me to have her phone and she then bought another one, 2 days after giving me her phone which cost $329 her new phone was stolen.

chei, i really feel for you. very heartbreaking. our people are just so dissappointing. i went home last year and was so afraid of going out so i wouldn't have my phone stolen. i had to buy like the lowest quality, roughest-looking phone just so that no-one would want to steal it. it worked sha. hmm, that country is just turning into something else. like someone said, stolen phones should be blacklisted to make them useless to the thief. what is the phone company waiting for to implement that sef? such a shame

Hi,
Im new around here and dont know how things work as yet.But i guess ill be more than willing to learn.

Ive had 2 of my Phones taken from me,so i guess im a bit experienced in the phone theft field. The 1st one was in 2002. I was writing the final paper of my final exams in school and just couldnt wait to be through. I'd been using the phone as a calculator and timer so i had it on my desk, and then it was time to submit. There was this mad rush and i had to leave my desk,so i left my phone supposedly with a colleague for a minute to hand in my paper. When i turned around, my colleague was gone and so was my phone, when i eventualy caught up with him, he said he didnt know that i had left my phone is his care. :oI cried (literally) because i'd had the phone for barely 2 weeks.I had just changed my old one i had used for about 9months.

The other was taken from me one beautiful Monday morning in June this year. I had just started at a new job and was still trying to get used to going out early to beat the Lagos traffic. I was carrying one of these big bags that we ladies like to carry around with all the pockets and zips. I had stopped for a bus change at CMS busstop. I noticed this one guy just kept trying to sell me wrist watches even after I had told him like 10 times already that I don’t wear wrist watches. Unknown to me, his partner was rummaging through my bag, right behind me and ofcourse by the time I realized what was going on the guy was sprinting across the road with my phone, wrist watch seller also had disappeared.When I eventually called the my number, the guy told me to come to Balogun Market with 10k if I wanted to get my phone. Now you tell me, was the phone really worth a risk at the balogun park? I guess not…
End of story, I had to buy me a new and better phone and now I know what to do when I see a guy(or anyone) trying to sell me anything I don’t need…

The guy ("original owner" who took my sister's phone just walked up to her and asked, "Sister, anything for the boyz?" She replied nothing and he asked, "Shebi phone dey? Oya bring am" and that was it,

Bad, but luchies, i couldn't help but laugh at the part 'shebi phone dey'. Funny but annoying, as if one obliges them at their request!

Me was on d bus and two fool try distract me with magic trick.

One was doing the trick and the other checkin out me phone.

Once the magic show had finished me reached for me phone to call all me boys and let em know how impressed i was. But it weren't there. I saw the chief magigian running with me phone towards the bus exit.

Me grabbed for me gun and give him a blast in the head and end that fool.

Thats what people like that deserve or it will keep happening.

Me collected me phone from his person then robbed his cell and money!

Me wins i thought.

Yes. me think you won too. This is a joke right?

deathadder:

Me was on d bus and two fool try distract me with magic trick.

One was doing the trick and the other checkin out me phone.

Once the magic show had finished me reached for me phone to call all me boys and let em know how impressed i was. But it weren't there. I saw the chief magigian running with me phone towards the bus exit.

Me grabbed for me gun and give him a blast in the head and end that fool.

Thats what people like that deserve or it will keep happening.

Me collected me phone from his person then robbed his cell and money!

Me wins i thought.

me friend, me wish dis joke but dis life.

Me sure me did win though, I mean me even got his cell too!

Me wish I caught the other one, I'd make him sorry!

As a student who just finished secondary school in June and started an Internship programme in an organisation in V/I pending the time I resume in the University, I was unaware of how bad things were about phone theft. I heard stories though but it was not the same experiencing the real thing. I had saved some money to buy my phone with some assistance from my Dad about a year earlier. I valued my phone a lot but valued it even more when it was stolen.

Guys, Lagos life is hard. On my way back from work on the 24th of August, 2006, I'll never forget that day. During the day, I took some pix with my phone to show my people at home how my office looked like. Those pictures didn't get home with me.

I waved to my colleague as I entered a bus from VI to Obalende where I was to enter Yaba. When I entered the bus, I brought out my phone to make sure I put it on vibration mode and put it back in my pocket. I don't like the idea of it ringing out for everyone to know that I have a phone. My pocket was a bit loose when compared to the ones in Jeans. Everyone at the office is expected to dress formally Monday to Thursday, but Friday you are free to dress freely.

My older brother had always warned me of how his colleagues phones had always been snatched in Lagos especially at Obalende. So once in a while I tap my pocket to confirm my phone and wallet are still intact.

A lady with a baby on her back sat to my left while an 'Old Man' with a red face cap sat at my right. (Should be between 40 to 50 plus in age because he looked elderly in appearance.)

As the journey commenced, the old man dropped his money on the floor of the bus. They were quite scattered. I wanted to help him, but he bent as fast as he dropped them to pick them up. He did that for a while and he got down at a junction before we got to Obalende.

When we got to Obalende, I tapped as usual but felt only my wallet. I went back into the bus to check for my phone. It was gone! A woman gave me her phone to dial the number, the line just rang and it occured to me that I left it on vibration mode. The woman with the baby then reminded me off the old man who bent to pick his money, then it all clicked!

lite

You wnt Believe diz!

This was my 1st fon & it happened sm yrs back!

NET BOYFRND

I met him on net-- he calls so well & we do talk on fon 4 like an hr ,sm months lata i invited him over 2 my house, we saw & he went back.

Sm months later, i travelled back 2 skool , he came 2 see me & told me he wanted 2 take me out, so exited i went 2 shower!

Came out! he was nowhere 2 b found with my fon & Money that was in my BAG!

@ Jaybaby,

what kinda fone u using now? I wanna come see you in your hostel, with the latest soap in town, you can't help but take a long shower, when should I show up? and hope your charger's easy to find

Wow jaybaby that's a funny one, though not funny at that point in time!

[center]NCC to end mobile phone theft by December[/center]

Published: Tuesday, 1 Jul 2008

http://punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20080701121050

The menace of mobile handsets’ theft in Nigeria will soon be over as the Nigerian Communications Commission on Friday announced that an anti-theft system that will render any stolen mobile handset in the country useless, will come into operation before December 2008.

Ernest Ndukwe

The commission also said the scheme, once operational, would completely bar any stolen phone from being used in any of the telephone networks.

The Executive Vice- Chairman and Chief Executive of NCC, Mr. Ernest Ndukwe, who broke the news at the 47th Consumer Parliament, which held in Awka, Anambra State, also said the regulatory body had concluded plans to force down the current tariffs being charged by phone operators for Short Messaging Services so as to assist more people to communicate more easily and cheaply.

Ndukwe said the issue of phone theft in the country had been of major concern to the regulator, adding that the anti-theft system was developed with the collaboration of the mobile phone operators.

He also said that a company had been licensed to manage the system, explaining that the system would require that all the mobile operators, including GSM and CDMA networks, link their data to the system such that once the theft of any phone handset was reported, it would block it from in any other network in Nigeria.

On the plan to reduce the cost of SMS, which is still up to N15 in some networks, Ndukwe said the commission was looking into the matter and expected the operators to reduce the tariffs soon otherwise the commission would take action.

”SMS is one of the cheapest things to offer in the network in terms of services, and many young people use this service. It is cheaper and easier and when more people use it, it will also free the networks of congestion.

“If the operators do not react, we will react. We will probably put a sealing on this service”, he said.

The NCC boss also observed that checks by the commission in Awka and the surrounding areas showed that all the operators had failed tests on customer care for their subscribers.

He admonished the operators to live up to their responsibilities to ensure customer satisfaction with the provision of customer care facilities for quick resolution of complaints.

Ndukwe explained to telephone subscribers that the essence of the parliament was to feel their pulse and to assess the facilities, which the operators had put together to offer quality services to the people.

He told them that some of the quality of service challenges in the system were traceable to the operators, while some were beyond them, noting, however, that the commission recently imposed some compensation on the operators to mitigate these challenges.

”This is the first time that any group of customers has been so compensated in any part of Africa, and we have not seen it in any part of the world. So, we are proud to achieve that for the consumers in this country”, he said.

Ndukwe said that some operators were already offering 3G broadband Internet capabilities, while some others were providing WIMAX services.

He said many Nigerian cities would experience broadband services by mid 2009 through the State Accelerated Broadband Initiative in which the NCC was providing subsidy to some of the operators to implement.

Following complaints about vandalism of operators‘ equipment, the NCC boss said the commission was more concerned about one company damaging the cables of other companies and that the regulator was coming up with some rules about theft.

However, he said the regulator was not the police to be able to arrest those who vandalise equipment.

”If there is wilful damage to your equipment, you have the option of suing the company involved to get mitigation for damages, which NCC cannot offer”, he said.

“Ndukwe also noted that vandalism of telecom equipment was not peculiar to Nigeria alone but that the NCC was planning to convene a meeting of all the operators in the country to find lasting solutions to the issue.

The matter of inaccurate billings was also discussed at the special session of the parliament, during which the NCC advised the operators to ensure that they provide adequate billing information to the consumers, while urging the consumers to be alert to such billings and report where there were anomalies.

Mustay, good info
bt I'm yet to get my mtn compensation!

Seeing this post made me recall one of the most bizarre yet 100% true story of phone theft that happened in Delta State University,Abraka just two months ago.It sounds hard to believe but it really happened.The story was published in one of the national dailies sef.In one of our university girl's hostel,there is a mysterious man which we have tagged 'Red man' becos he always ties a red cloth when doing his thing.He appears through the wall in rooms in the girl's hostel and go straight for their expensive phones.when he collects the phone,he simply touches d wall and disappear!He doesnt carry gun or weapons;when he discovers that u have a a colour screen or camera fone,he wil pay u a visit dat nite!He did dis and terrorized the girl's hostel for 2 months and just couldn't be caught despite night vigils in the hostel and security personnels called to intervene in d surreal happenings.Two months went by b4 he then stopped visiting d girl's hostel.Many people wud dismiss d story as plausible but u can ask any Delsuite in ur area to confirm it.

dragnet

the 'free' airtime wey them give una nko?

just2nice

hmmmmmmm. . .

please which dailies can i search for to see the story?

Mustay, I didnt get 1 kobo